Dan H. Branch (born March 5, 1958) is an American politician who served as the Texas State Representative for the 108th district from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he represented part of Dallas.[1] On July 25, 2013, Branch officially announced his candidacy for Texas Attorney General in the 2014 Republican primary election, in which he was defeated by Ken Paxton.[2]
Biography
Legislative tenure
Branch won the seat in 2002, when the incumbent Republican Kenn George stepped down after two terms to run unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for Texas land commissioner, losing to Jerry E. Patterson, then a state senator from Houston. The 2002 race was Branch's first for state office. He won every election thereafter until 2014, when he ran for attorney general.[3]
Branch served as chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education from 2009 to 2014 and served on the Calendars, Elections and Redistricting Committees, as well as the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty. Branch also served on the Legislative Budget Board. Prior to the 81st Session, he served three terms as the Chair of Budget and Oversight on the House Public Education Committee and served as Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.[citation needed]
In 2009, Branch was selected by Texas House members from eleven north Texas counties to co-chair the Dallas Area Legislative Delegation (DALD), at the delegation's first meeting of the 81st session. Branch replaced retired member Fred Hill (R-Richardson) as the Republican co-chair.[4] He was re-elected in 2011 to serve as co-chair.[5]
A majority of the House Republican Caucus endorsed Branch in his bid for state Attorney General.[10] Shortly after his announcement of candidacy for attorney general, Branch reported more than $4 million on hand,[11] a considerably larger amount than that of his two opponents.
In the primary, Branch finished second place with 35%, compared to 45% for Ken Paxton. In the contentious runoff, Paxton defeated Branch by a 65% to 35% margin.[12]
Community involvement
In the fall of 2008, Branch joined Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa in leading "Operation Comeback", a statewide effort to stop 50,000 students a year from dropping out of high school.[13]
Branch and his wife, Stacey, have five children: Daniel, Spencer, Catherine, Charles, and Sarah. They have lived and worked in Dallas for almost three decades.[15]